'Tron: Legacy' glides into a close second place with $23.7 million, and 'Tangled' crosses the $300-million mark at the global box office.
The opening weekend of 2011 on the foreign theatrical circuit saw 20th Century Fox's Gulliver's Travels narrowly taking the No. 1 box office spot for the first time, collecting $24 million from 4,495 venues in 33 territories.
In general, the box office take of the year's first weekend paled in comparison with that of 2010's initial round. Powered by 20th Century Fox's Avatar -- which alone grossed $136.8 million -- last year's opening stanza on the foreign circuit collected well more than double this year's opener.
Opening in 19 markets – all relatively small except in the U.K. and India -- Gulliver's generated most of its weekend action in the U.K. where it tallied $10.9 million (including previews) from 503 locations. The 3D adaptation of Jonathan Swift's 18th century classic has grossed a total of $47 million in 10 days of foreign release. The Jack Black vehicle opens this week in a half-dozen new territories, including Russia.
No. 2 was Tron: Legacy, which drew $23.7 million from 5,929 locations in 40 territories for an international gross total of $110 million since opening overseas in mid-December. A high-budget 3D sequel to 1982's Tron, Legacy premiered in six markets on the weekend of which Korea was the biggest.
Opening launch there delivered $3.2 million from 250 locations. Disney expected a No. 1 market ranking although Legacy experienced strong competition for the top spot from a trio of Korean productions: C.J. Entertainment's The Last Godfather, an English language gangster drama starring Harvey Keitel; comedy Hello Ghost; and Showbox Mediaplex's action thriller The Yellow Sea.
Third was Paramount's Little Fockers, last round's top box office draw offshore, and the current domestic box office champ. The third edition of the Meet the Parents comedy franchise collected an estimated $22.5 million from 4,683 locations, hoisting its foreign cume to $72 million and its global take to $175.2 million. A No. 1 Australia tally came to $3.7 million from 262 spots for a market cume of $10.5 million.
Fourth was Fox's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which played almost exclusively holdover engagements and grossed $21.4 million on the weekend from 8,095 locations in 68 territories.
Top market was France where it ranked No. 2 with $4.8 million drawn from 739 locations for a market cume of $23 million over four rounds. Narnia's overseas gross total stands at $210 million, nearly two-and-a- half times its domestic cume. A China opening is due Friday.
No. 5 on the weekend was Sony and other distributors' The Tourist, which collected $18.6 million from 3,550 screens in 43 territories. Costarring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, the action drama opened in first place in Spain ($4.8 million from 436 locations), Singapore and Vietnam. Overseas cume stands at $65 million.
Disney Animation's Tangled has grossed $146.5 million overseas thanks to another $14.8 million in its sixth weekend at 3,802 venues in 23 territories. Robust holdover market action pushed the 3D animation retelling of the classic Rapunzel tale to the No. 1 market spots in its fourth stanza in France and in Germany. Tangled has crossed the $300-million in global box office ($314.4 million), the 20th Disney animation title to do so.
DreamWorks Animation's Megamind in 3D pushed its international gross total to $134.5 million after an $11 million weekend at 4,938 in 56 territories. The Paramount release lured $2 million from 725 France sites in its third round for a market cume of $8.6 million.
Also coming in with an estimated $11 million take was Warner Bros.' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, which played about 6,500 screens in 65 territories. Foreign gross total for the seventh Harry Potter title now stands at $616 million.
Fox's romantic comedy Love and Other Drugs opened in eight territories over the weekend, including a No. 3 bow in the U.K. ($2.4 million including previews from 412 sites) and $2.1 million debut from 280 sites in France for a No. 7 notch. Paramount is releasing the Weinstein Company's co-production The King's Speech in Australia, where the British royal drama drew $2.4 million from a mere 95 locations -- for a robust per-screen average of $25,263 per screen.
Other international cumes: Fox's Unstoppable, $58 million; Universal's Robin Hood, $215.6 million; DreamWorks Animation/Paramount's Shrek Forever After in 3D, $506 million; Studio Canal's Les Emotifs Anonymes, $5 million France only; Universal's Despicable Me, $290.3 million; Sony's Burlesque, $11.4 million; Universal's Un Altro Mondo, $2.6 million Italy only; EuropaCorp. Distribution's Un Ballcon sur la Mer (Balcony Overlooking the Sea), $5.4 million France only; Universal's Devil, $23.4 million; and Universal's Julia's Eyes, $9.8 million France and Spain only.
